Data-Centric and Model-Centric AI: Twin Drivers of Compact and Robust Industry 4.0 Solutions

Abstract

Despite its dominance over the past three decades, model-centric AI has recently come under heavy criticism in favor of data-centric AI. Indeed, both promise to improve the performance of AI systems, yet with converse points of focus. While the former successively upgrades a devised model (algorithm/code), holding the amount and type of data used in model training fixed, the latter enhances the quality of deployed data continuously, paying less attention to further model upgrades. Rather than favoring either of the two approaches, this paper reconciles data-centric AI with model-centric AI. In so doing, we connect current AI to the field of cybersecurity and natural language inference, and through the phenomena of ‘adversarial samples’ and ‘hypothesis-only biases’, respectively, showcase the limitations of model-centric AI in terms of algorithmic stability and robustness. Further, we argue that overcoming the alleged limitations of model-centric AI may well require paying extra attention to the alternative data-centric approach. However, this should not result in reducing interest in model-centric AI. Our position is supported by the notion that successful ‘problem solving’ requires considering both the way we act upon things (algorithm) as well as harnessing the knowledge derived from data of their states and properties.